My mother is 82, diabetic and has had four heart procedures in the last 20 years.

She recently had a heart incident, was hospitalized but no operation, just a heart cath.

They released her and tweaked her meds.

I moved in with her temporarily to help by cooking for her and watching that she was taking meds properly, etc. Have been working on providing her with B secretor foods.

The doctor says that the animal fats in her diet are causing her blood glucose to remain too high, and she needs to be on plant proteins-- to reduce her dairy and meat intake to 1 oz a day. This is supposed to help her blood sugar to drop to a more normal level.

Some background: we got her to the doc about a month ago because of breathlessness, doc sent her to Columbus OH (nearest big city with a cardiac unit). Once home we tried to get night time oxygen for her, it took a week for us to get that sorted out and paid for. Meanwhile she's taking ferrous sulfate or gluconate (not sure which as they switched them out), to improve homoglobin.

Since getting the oxygen and making sure she is eating regularly, and taking her meds she is much better. (My theory is she was to tired to cook for herself adequately so she would cheat on her diet; because of sugar imbalance was not thinking well, probably spacing on her meds, and this made her even less capable of eating right etc etc.) It's like night and day. She doesn't fall asleep all the time, she is sleeping better at night, she has interestin things she loves again --like kniting and her plants-- and energy to do stuff. She is more active on her own and much more stable on her feet, doesn't need her cane all the time and isn't breathless after walking even just a few steps.

I have got her off coffee, chicken, wheat, corn and potatoes, and make her green tea frequently. I work on getting veg into her but she is resistant to many vegetables. (She likes broccoli but becaise of one of her meds she can only have it occasionally-- something about the vitamin K.) She does like bean soups, but there are limits to how much of that I can feed her. She doesn't care for turkey.She does love the muffins I make her-- rice flour, almond meal and flax seed meal-- but she would easily overdo that if I let her.

She probably has been eating too many eggs (it is one of the things she really loves and will eat), but the doc is saying only one or two eggs a month! I have tried feeding her oatmeal in the morning, but if she doesn't have some animal protein she gets foggy and has less energy. Several times when I needed to be gone in the morning my brother has made her 2 pieces of spelt toast instead of one and I swear it makes a difference in her energy (in this case less is more) and what she has for breakfast seems to set the tone for the whole day.

The other issue she has had for about 3 years is periodic diarrhea, which she has treated with imodium, and I am now shure that this has been more continuous that she will admit. Since I moved in a week and a half ago , I have made sure she has some yogurt (organic and locally made) at least once and sometimes 3 times daily, and this (and I believe the removal of coffee and grains) has cleared it up almost entirely. (since I'm not here 24/7 there are times she gets foods I don't prepare).

Any way, I am hoping some one out there can help with this dilemma. My sister, who doubts the BTD, but has gone gluten free, is insisting that we follow doc's orders regarding the animal products. That means almost no meat, reducing the dairy a lot and going non-fat, and cutting out eggs almost entirely.

What have other folks' experiences been with BTD and these health issues? She's a Nomad by the way.

2 eggs a month and restricted animal fat and dairyHer doc are taking everything nourishing out of her diet everythimg taht is important in old age as well.

when Docs says no animal fat and high fat dairy it is a 1 size fits all approach-sure it might be good for an A type- but a B type it is the directs way to issues with blodsugar, brain fog and stress. ( and heart disease imo)

I used to be a low fat starchtarian and I was sick all the type - including borderhigh cholestrol Now when I eat a high fat- low grain nomad diet I am well and funny enough my cholesterol are fine

She is 82 and honestely I think she should have some quality in her last years - and she wont have that on a fat and animal free diet

I would give her a varied diet that she enjoys; good quality full fat yoghurt ( no sugar), eggs - yes they have absolutely nothing to do with heart disease- good fish- whatever meat( ofc no chicken and pork) - good veggies.Ghe e and olive oil.I would restrict her sugars from white grains ( even glutenfree) and juice and fruit due to her diabetics.

She should have a life full of quality food imo .I have worked with old people ( especially with Dementia) in more than 2 years and I have seen how these extremely restricted diet takes all quality of life out in old people and sure it does not make them better.

The restriction on her green vegetable intake sounds like she takes coumadin. She needs to keep her green vegetable intake consistent then the coumadin can get regulated, many people misunderstand the dietary needs when they are on coumadin.

So if she eats the same portions of vegetables every day then the levels can be regulated. If she eats some one day then not the next that is when it becomes a problem.

Some doctors don't have a clue about what it does to people to have to severely restrict green vegetables! They are the reason for so much confusion about what people should do when they are on Coumadin - mostly because they don't have a clue themselves. It is amazing how many ways they can come up with to kill people. This doctor takes the prize, though, with the two eggs a month restriction. I knew a woman who lived to be up in her eighties whose cholesterol was consistently around 1000, yes, that is 1000. All the conventional cholesterol lowering treatments had no effect on it whatsoever. Her weight, her diet and her activities were perfect - even for a person twenty years younger than she was. She had no other health problems. A wonderful, inspiring person! Of course, the doctors tried to ruin her life by trying to make her think that she was going to drop dead any second. Well, she proved them wrong for a very long time!

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin

I would ignore the doctor's dietary advice- she clearly needs more animal protein and fewer carbs than this doctor wants her to eat. Research that broccolli thing though- a specific food containing chemicals that interfere with meds may be something the doctor DOES have right. Feed her the B or the Nomad diet, with ample animal proteins and fats. Veggie proteins are fine too, but keep those grains in check!

I'd also talk to her doctor about the vitamin K. When my father was on coumadin, his regular MD told him "no more salad." But his cardiologist said "you need to eat about the same amount of salad every day, and we'll adjust the dose to compensate." So my father ate a decent-sized salad once a day for years, until he got too sick to eat much of anything.

She has taken the secretor test and is definitely a secretor, unike me.

It was really clear that she responded well to a higher protein, lower carb diet,she was so much more clear headed.

Does anyone have any ideas about her chronic diarrhea? could the coffee be implicated or is it more likely the wheat? Once I started cooking for her she did much better, I substituted tea for coffee and made sure she was getting lots of good quality yogurt.

Does anyone have any ideas about her chronic diarrhea? could the coffee be implicated or is it more likely the wheat? Once I started cooking for her she did much better, I substituted tea for coffee and made sure she was getting lots of good quality yogurt.

Wheat really tears me up, although, I have more problem with tightness rather than looseness...

I've never been able to drink coffee - just couldn't stand the flavor.

It is possible that the gut is being distressed by some of the drugs, although that is really hard to "test" without causing significant upheaval due to the intended results of the drugs. You'll have to do whatever gut healing you can to attempt to override the effects of the drugs. Intrinsa, Deflect, and ghee are good to use for gut healing.

All of your input was really helpful. I am so grateful for this great group of people and these forums.

Unfortunately Mom passed away in March-- a return to the hospital in February showed that her kidneys were failing. After 4 days in the local hospital and 5 days seeing specialists in a Columbus hospital to potentially do surgery they releases her to a nursing home, after 5 days there we brought her home and did hospice with her. It was a very good experience though extremely exhausting, my brother, sister and I did 24 hour care for her for about 2 weeks, and she was conscious and intentional in her dying process. It was a very special experience to assist her in leaving her body the way she wanted to-- without interventions, and caring for her ourselves. We were able to prepare her for burial and bury her on the family farm, in a coffin my brother and uncle built, and with a simple burial service with her minister presiding and family and friends.

Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!

Bekki Shining Bearheart, so sorry to hear of your mother's death. It is so sweet, though, to read how her last days were made so much better by the tender comfort and nourishment from those she loved. Thanks for letting us know.

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin

I feel fortunate to have known my mom, who was a very special person in her own right-- a career nurse who innovated programs at the local mental health center, helped start the Visiting Nurses (hospice service) in our county in Appalachian Ohio, in her 50s fulfilled a lifelong dream to be a Lutheran minister, and in her retirement years served as a chaplain with the Visiting Nursses when she came back to Athens. She had an incredible faith, which served her well as she prepared for death, which she had no fear of. She taught me so much especially in the last days of her life. I am just grateful to have been able to share it with her. It was no burden, but a priviledge. I hope when my timecomes I can follow her example wth as much trust, grace, gratitude and wisdom.